


First Step

by west_haven



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 10:05:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1814596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/west_haven/pseuds/west_haven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>”Are you flirting with me?” An interpretation on the first time Joel and Tess questioned their relationship and took it further than just partners in crime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Step

”Are you flirting with me?”

Tess blinked at him and raised her eyebrow. He looked uncomfortable even mentioning it, so she was wondering where he was coming from.

"Why, do you  _want_  me to flirt with you?”

At that, his eyes widened and he quickly turned away. “Okay, fine. Can we pretend I didn’t say that?”

"Oh no, Texas, you can’t take something like  _that_  back. I have been wondering for some time where we stand. So spill.” She squared her jaw and boldly stared him down.

Joel shifted from foot to foot and then mumbled something.

"Could you repeat that?" Tess said, narrowing her eyes. She didn’t really like how awkward he was all of a sudden.

"Fuck, Tess. I… I won’t lie to you." He scratched behind his head, looking completely out of his element. "I guess I am attra— I do like you. But I don’t think I can…." He trailed off.

They were quiet for a moment, and off in the distance, gunshots fired and echoed. Two bullets.  _One of each of us_ , Tess thought darkly. Then she made up her mind. Life was too short for this bullshit, as cliche as that sounded.

She approached Joel, who backed up some, moving closer to the wall. In that split second, he seemed to realize he was trapped and he opened his mouth to say something.

But Tess was there first, finally shutting up the man she’s known for years with a kiss. He stiffened but she didn’t press, trying to give him a second to decide what to do. After a moment, his hand finally settled on her hip and he relaxed a little, leaning into her touch.

She broke off the kiss and stared into his eyes. “Don’t make it into a big deal, if that helps.”

Joel sighed and looked at bit troubled, but he shook his head and dove into another kiss. His beard scratched at her face and it’s been so long since she’s kissed anyone, even that felt fantastic. She pressed herself up against him, feeling his broad chest against hers. He made a rumbling noise in this throat at that, which only drove her crazy.

"Ah, shit, Joel." She interrupted the kiss again. "You have to tell me how far you want to take this."

Tess had never seen him look this conflicted, but he still pressed his face against hers again. His hands cradled her face and he slowly walked her backwards towards their couch.

He lightly pushed her onto it, making her laugh. “Like a couple of school kids, right? This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I came by today.”

Joel cracked a smile at that but then went to work unbuttoning her shirt. She couldn’t help but shiver in anticipation; it really had been an embarrassingly long time for her. He cupped a breast and his mouth trailed over her collarbone. When his hands started making their way to her pants, she felt so sensitive, she almost jumped off the couch.

"Ah, wait, wait. That shirt has gotta go." She pulled and the buttons just snapped apart. Tess wasted no time in running her hands over his chest; her fingers found the old scars that were littered over his torso and she leaned forward to kiss a few of them.

"Better?" He raised his eyebrows. She nodded against his chest, feeling his heart beat.

His hands trailed downwards, slowly unbuttoning her pants. Joel’s mouth returned to her lips as he started to caress her. Already, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. His mouth moved and his teeth grazed her neck. Tess felt so ready, she felt like she should have been embarrassed.

But she wasn’t expecting for Joel’s mouth to start downwards, his hands only pausing for a moment to fully slide off her pants and underwear. He lightly started to massage her with his fingers, then his mouth joined them. Tess groaned in pleasure, her toes curling. She shoved Joel’s face in closer, making him sputter then break away to catch his breath.

Tess looked down, ready to apologize, but the image of him looking at her from between her thighs made her throat go dry and her voice died right there. Joel chuckled and then continued to pleasure her, slow and steady. He ran his fingers over her thighs, slightly scraping his blunt fingernails over them, and all she could hear was the noise of him wetly lapping against her. She couldn’t control her noises at all and her hands wildly grabbed at his shoulders.

"F-fuck, Joel, yo—" Her sentence was cut short when he started to gently insert a finger into her. She inhaled a breath and let out a long groan. He didn’t cease teasing her with his tongue either, so she knew she was about to come undone. She was flushing with pleasure, and now she was feeling that embarrassment at being so easy to please.

He stretched his finger, curling and rubbing lightly, and that was it. All the sensations finally came to a head and she couldn’t stop moaning, her back arching and thighs twitching. For a blissful moment, she even forgot how shitty things were, with the military and the infected. It was like those happy years in college she had before the outbreak; it was absolutely fantastic.

Joel hovered over her for a second, eyes wide and blinking, as if he couldn’t believe what he just did. The feeling was mutual; she couldn’t really believe it either. But then he took a deep breath and tenderly pressed a kiss on her lips, unconsciously letting her taste herself on his tongue. She hastily broke the kiss since that taste was kind of turning her on again.

"Jo-joel." She gasped. "Do you, uh, want me to….?"

"Nah, I’d…." He looked away, like he was self-conscious. "I’m not ready for that, so I’d rather not. This is… good, the way it is."

She was curious about him not wanting reciprocation, but she didn’t press the issue. But still, Tess smiled a little then scooted over, allowing him some room to curl up next to her. He paused for a moment before reaching back on the floor for her pants and humbly gave them to her. “Not sure how long you’d wanna sit almost naked on our couch.”

"Jesus, Joel! Way to ruin the mood." She laughed and took the clothes off his hands. Her body was still tingling and she was suddenly sleepy, so she quickly put them back on and got back on the couch with him.

She was surprised at how comfortable it felt, being with him like this. Tess looked him over as he closed his eyes and she realized he’s never looked more relaxed.

"Hey," she whispered. "Thanks, and not just for… well, just thanks."

"Ain’t no problem," he mumbled against her still bare chest.

Belatedly, she realized they still had work to do, but she made the executive decision to ignore it, at least for a little while longer.

**Author's Note:**

> I was given a prompt on Tumblr to use certain phrases in a fic, and this is what happened. First time I've written proper smut too, so that was... interesting to do. Still, I ended up being proud of this, so that's why it's here too.
> 
> And thanks to everyone for checking out my fics and stuff! I've reached over 4k hits and nearly 200 kudos, so that makes me feel so happy! :D


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